История ледника Донгуз-Орун по биоиндикационным, историческим, картографическим источникам и данным дистанционного зондирования

On the basis of dendrochronological, lichenometric and historical data with the use of Earth remote sensing materials, the evolution of the Donguz-Orun Glacier has been reconstructed over the past centuries. In this work we used aerial photographs of 1957, 1965, 1981, 1987, satellite image of 2009, as well as descriptions, photographs, maps and plans of the glacier of the 19th and 20th centuries, data of instrumental measurements of the glacier end position in the second half of the 20th – early 21st centuries, dendrochronological dating of pine on the front part of the valley, and juniper to date coastal moraines, and the results of lichenometry studies. It has been established that the Donguz-Orun Glacier in the past had several clearly marked advances about 100, 200 and more than 350 years ago, which are expressed in relief in the form of uneven-aged coastal moraines. Despite the fact that the Donguz-Orun Glacier differs from many mountain-valley glaciers of the Caucasus primarily by its predominantly avalanche feeding and a moraine cover, almost entirely covering its surface, the main periods of its advances are consistent with the known large fluctuations of mountain glaciers during the Little Ice Age in the early 20th, early 19th, and, probably, in the middle of the 17th century. However, unlike most other Caucasian glaciers, the Donguz-Orun Glacier advanced in the 1970s–2000s. Te scale of its degradation from the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 21st century is also uncharacteristic for the Caucasus: the reduction in the length for longer than a century period is only about 100 m.Проведены исследования изменений долинного ледника Донгуз-Орун за последние три с половиной столетия. Границы положения конца ледника определялись по аэрофото- и космическим снимкам, а также по историческим описаниям, фотографиям, картам и планам ледника, дендрохронологическим датировкам по сосне и можжевельнику и результатам лихенометрических исследований. Установлено, что ледник Донгуз-Орун в прошлом имел несколько чётко выраженных наступаний около 100, 200 и более 350 лет назад, следы которых находят отражение в рельефе в виде разновозрастных береговых морен

History of the Donguz-Orun Glacier from bioindication, historical, cartographic sources and remote sensing data

On the basis of dendrochronological, lichenometric and historical data with the use of Earth remote sensing materials, the evolution of the Donguz-Orun Glacier has been reconstructed over the past centuries. In this work we used aerial photographs of 1957, 1965, 1981, 1987, satellite image of 2009, as well as descriptions, photographs, maps and plans of the glacier of the 19th and 20th centuries, data of instrumental measurements of the glacier end position in the second half of the 20th – early 21st centuries, dendrochronological dating of pine on the front part of the valley, and juniper to date coastal moraines, and the results of lichenometry studies. It has been established that the Donguz-Orun Glacier in the past had several clearly marked advances about 100, 200 and more than 350 years ago, which are expressed in relief in the form of uneven-aged coastal moraines. Despite the fact that the Donguz-Orun Glacier differs from many mountain-valley glaciers of the Caucasus primarily by its predominantly avalanche feeding and a moraine cover, almost entirely covering its surface, the main periods of its advances are consistent with the known large fluctuations of mountain glaciers during the Little Ice Age in the early 20th, early 19th, and, probably, in the middle of the 17th century. However, unlike most other Caucasian glaciers, the Donguz-Orun Glacier advanced in the 1970s–2000s. Te scale of its degradation from the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 21st century is also uncharacteristic for the Caucasus: the reduction in the length for longer than a century period is only about 100 m

Radiocarbon Dating of Medieval Buildings in the Mountainous Part of Ingushetia (Northern Caucasus, Russia)

There are hundreds of preserved medieval buildings in the mountainous part of Ingushetia, including Christian churches, crypts, temples, sanctuaries, battle towers, and living buildings. The chronology of their construction period is still questioned, as there are no radiocarbon (14C) dates published for these buildings and their dating is mainly based on architectural features, a few historical sources, and sometimes on accompanying archaeological material. The aim of this study is to assess more precisely the period of their construction. To do this, we selected the 10 most prominent medieval buildings that contain wooden construction elements and sampled these wooden elements in order to apply 14C accelerator mass-spectrometry dating (AMS) followed by wiggle-matching. From two of these buildings, plaster and mortar were also sampled for 14C AMS dating. This is the first time that these kinds of analyses have been performed for medieval buildings from the mountainous part of Ingushetia. For 6 out of 10 buildings, we acquired sufficiently precise dates that helped us to clarify their construction period. For the other 4 buildings, the acquired dates are still informative but could be refined further with additional 14C analyses. The calibrated dates obtained cover the period from AD 662 until recent time with the majority of them concentrated in 15th-17th centuries. © 2019 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona